Management Team
Dr. Creighton is the Founder and has been the Chairman of NVA since January 1996. Prior to that, he was a practicing clinician for twenty-four years in hospitals providing general, specialized and emergency care. He was a practice owner for nineteen years. Dr. Creighton is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, and a board certified Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. Dr. Creighton has lectured throughout the United States and Canada and authored numerous journal articles and textbook chapters.
Mr. Hartmann joined NVA in April 2008 and currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining NVA, Mr. Hartmann served as a Division Vice President of DaVita Inc., a national provider of renal dialysis services, since 2000. Prior to serving as a Division Vice President, Mr. Hartmann served as a Director of Operations and Business Development for DaVita from 1998 to 2000. Mr. Hartmann earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Vermont.
Mr. Woloshyn has been NVA Chief Financial Officer since November 1996. Prior to that, Mr. Woloshyn was engaged in roles as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer with physician practice management firms in southern California for twelve years. Most recently, he served as the Vice President, Finance and Chief Accounting Officer for Pacific Physician Services, Inc., a public company with $400 million in revenue. Mr. Woloshyn is a Chartered Accountant (Canada) who spent five years with Price Waterhouse before leaving public accounting.
Mr. Ager joined NVA in January 2011 and currently serves as Chief Development Officer. Prior to joining NVA, Mr. Ager served as Vice President of Business Development for Kindred Healthcare, Inc., a national provider of long-term patient care services, since 2005. Prior to serving as Vice President, Mr. Ager worked in healthcare investment banking at Morgan Stanley, Inc. and Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, Inc. from 2000 to 2005. Mr. Ager earned his JD/MBA from Duke University and his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UC San Diego.
Mr. Shulman joined NVA in February 1998 and is currently its Vice President, Finance and Controller. He spent five years in public accounting and received his CPA designation while with Grant Thornton. He then spent five years in financial roles in entertainment companies including the Walt Disney Company and Spelling Entertainment. Mr. Shulman received a BA in Economics from UCLA and an MBA from USC.
Ms. Garant joined NVA in March 2005 and is currently its Director of Organization Effectiveness. Prior to joining NVA, she held progressively responsible positions with Accenture, a global management consulting firm, as well as various hotel management positions with the Walt Disney Company. Ms. Garant received an International MBA from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver and a BA from the University of Michigan.
Mr. Zilberman joined NVA in July 2005 and is currently its Director of Information Technology. Prior to NVA he spent fifteen years managing professional services, network design, installation and engineering for a variety of information technology companies. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, a Cisco Certified Networking Administrator and a Citrix Certified Engineer.
Dr. Hale joined NVA in 2009 as Southwestern Divisional Director of Operations. Prior to NVA, she served as Regional Medical Director for Banfield, The Pet Hospital, and was responsible for multi-hospital leadership for the East Coast Region. Earlier in her career, Dr. Hale worked for PetSmart Veterinary Services in and practiced small animal medicine for nine years in TN. Dr. Hale is a 1986 Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine graduate and currently serves on the TUSVM Dean & Advisory Board.
Dr. Pilch joined NVA in October 2006 as Central Division Director of Operations. Prior to NVA, Dr. Pilch practiced in Wyoming and Montana for 15 years, during which time he started a practice in Sheridan, WY. The practice grew to a multi-doctor referral facility which Dr. Pilch sold in 2003. Dr. Pilch is active in a real estate development company, co-owner of a large ranch, and currently sits on the boards of philanthropy foundations. Dr. Pilch earned his DVM from Colorado State University.
Dr. Robinson joined NVA in January 2011 as Manager of Divisional Operations. Prior to NVA, Dr. Robinson served as Regional Medical Director for Banfield, The Pet Hospital, and was responsible for multi-hospital leadership for the Western US region. Prior to working for Banfield, he owned and directed a veterinary hospital in New Orleans. Dr. Robinson is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and has an MSPH degree from the Howard University School of Medicine. He was vice president of the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine. He has also has served on numerous civic boards and is presently a class agent for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.
Ms. Ruffin joined NVA in November 2008 and currently serves as Arizona Division Director of Operations. Prior to joining NVA, Ms. Ruffin served as Training/Quality Assurance Manager of TicketsNow, a subsidiary of Ticketmaster. Previously, Ms. Ruffin held progressively responsible positions with Banfield, The Pet Hospital. Ms. Ruffin is currently a student in the Executive MBA program at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State Unversity. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Sheehy joined NVA in 1993 as an Associate Veterinarian at West Valley Veterinary Clinic. In 2000, he became the Hospital Director at Central Valley Veterinary Clinic in Salt Lake City and in 2006, Dr. Sheehy joined the NVA Management Team as its Western Division Director of Operations. Prior to working with NVA, Dr. Sheehy was a Regulatory Veterinarian for the United States Department of Agriculture. He received his DVM from Colorado State University and his MBA from the University of Utah.
Dr. Stieh joined NVA as the Manager of Divisional Operations in 2009. Dr. Stieh served as medical director of two hospitals in South Florida. She has conducted research and study programs in the UK and Australia and she also holds a Masters Degree in Nutrition Biochemistry and her DVM from Auburn University.
Ms. George currently serves as Manager of Divisional Operations for the Southeast Division. She joined NVA in 2005 as Administrator for a veterinary specialty referral & emergency practice in Cleveland, Ohio and in 2008, served as Manager of Regional Operations for the Eastern Division. Prior to joining NVA, she was the Administrator for a large, privately owned physician practice and outpatient testing center and also worked as the Regional Director for a multi-hospital heath system with responsibility for multiple hospital departments. Ms. George earned an Executive MBA and Bachelor of Arts degree from Baldwin-Wallace College.